Don't Ever Leave Me
by Torashii
Summary: Christmas fic. Tsuna and his guardians fight, leaving Tsuna to run away. One shot. No pairings. Rated T to be safe.


**A/N: **This was a secret santa for SiriuslyScarredforLife. I am sorry orz

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><p>"What is wrong with you guys?" A usually soft-spoken brunet faced his eight guardians, each who sported expressions that varied from impassive to angry.<p>

"Tenth, we just don't want you getting hurt." Gokudera Hayato stepped forwards, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"I can take care of myself." The brunet snapped, causing Gokudera to flinch.

"Maa, maa, we know you can Tsuna." Yamamoto stepped forwards with a grin, flinging his arm around the bomber's shoulders in the process. Gokudera grimaced and shoved it off. "We just don't want you to be in a position where it's kill or be killed." Several other guardians nodded at this.

"I'm sure I'd be able to handle it." Tsuna almost rolled his eyes at his guardians. He sometimes wondered if any other boss was mothered in the same way he was. He loved them all, he really did, but he couldn't handle them hovering all around him – especially when they went out – and chasing away every single person that came within ten metres of him. When his (now ex-) lover went home in tears because of his hostile guardians, Tsuna snapped.

"Tsuna is definitely extreme enough to handle himself." Ryohei spoke up this time. "But you extremely promised us not to kill."

The mafia boss could feel himself frowning. "Each of you has broken that promise."

"That doesn't matter." The sharp rebuttal from Yamamoto of all people made Tsuna flinch. The brunet thought it _did _matter. If his guardians were going to stain their hands, he would bear to do so as well.

Instead of saying so, Tsuna went down another route. "If I have to protect my family then I'd-"

"We don't need your protection, herbivore." An irritated voice cut him off and Tsuna found himself _hurt _by it. '_We don't need you...' _The brunet swallowed back the pain and waited for someone to rebut his cloud guardian. After a few moments the mafia boss realised that nobody else was going to speak up and take the hurtful words back.

"T-then what if I need to protect myself?" If anyone noticed the slight quiver of Tsuna's voice, they showed no reaction to it.

His male mist gave an exaggerated sigh and shook his head. "That's why we're protecting you, Tsunayoshi."

Protecting? Whatever they were doing, it was not protecting him. It was stifling and restrictive and sometimes he felt he didn't even have room to breathe. Tsuna grit his teeth. "Putting me into a cage," he hissed. "Is not _protecting_ me."

"Tenth..." Gokudera looked troubled. Tsuna thought that he was starting to finally understand before, "You absolutely cannot stain your hands."

The mafia boss let out a growl of frustration. Feeling helpless, he looked each and every one of his guardians in the eye under the hope that someone would defend him. Not a single gaze reflected any sympathy. No words could pass the sudden lump in his throat, and Tsuna just didn't know how to convey the _anger hurt sadness pain_– that grew within his chest. Without any warning or parting words, the brunet ignited his gloves, swiftly taking off through the window and out into the warm Italian night. Ignoring the shouts that sprung up behind him, he tried his best to bite back to sudden urge to sob.

X X X

Loosening his tie and flinging it in any random direction, Gokudera flopped onto his bed with a tired sigh. He didn't know how late it was, but he was sure it was sometime past 2AM since Takeshi had gone to sleep sometime around about then. His back muscles ached from the tension that had been holding them for the past few hours, and the bomber tried to relax them slowly and spare himself more pain, even as sleep tempted him from the threshold.

Sighing and rolling over, Gokudera laced a hand through his hair in frustration, the same questions from the past few hours plaguing his mind. Where had the Tenth gone? Was he safe? Did he at least have his weapons on him? The bomber almost laughed ironically at the thought. With Tsuna gone, having left his phone and somehow disabled his tracker, Gokudera could only wish he had to means to stay safe. If someone attacked the Tenth right then, he wouldn't care what the Tenth did to protect himself, only that he came out safe, alive_._ It was only hours after their fight that the bomber really listened to what his boss was saying.

'_Putting me into a cage is not protecting me._'

Gokudera gave a choked, broken laugh at the words. They were near the same words he'd shouted at his father, those years ago. Sometimes he wondered if his mother also resented the cage she was forced into. That she died because she had enough of it. When he broke his own cage, he was drowning from all the things he wasn't prepared for, and all the people who put him down almost made him regret leaving his castle that was so oppressive each day he died a little more inside. He was sure staying there was a one way ticket to end up like his mother, but leaving only gave him new pains on top of his old ones. And then the Tenth came along, and suddenly there was a place for him, a _home, _that wasn't surrounded by bars, where nobody cared where and whom he came from. It was exactly what he needed, wanted. It was freedom from everything in his life.

He felt selfish. He felt absolutely disgusting. Was it really some form of protection, to stop the Tenth from killing, because such a kind, gentle soul would break under the burden? That was what he told himself at least. Gokudera feared it was some warped sense of pride – his boss is kind, his boss is pure – that made him want to prove to everyone that _he _was serving the best, most innocent, angelic boss within the Mafia. That he was worth something more by that. It was so _stupid_ because without the Tenth, without Tsuna, Gokudera realised that nothing else would matter.

The bomber could only feel like the worst kind of scum by using his family – _boss friend brother_ – like that.

"Please..." Gokudera whispered, hoarse from the tears that threatened to overwhelm him, and he wants so desperately to be heard. He wished that the Tenth would only come home safe and sound, and then it wouldn't matter what he had to do to achieve it.

"Please come home safely, Tsuna."

X X X

Takeshi didn't make it an hour before he broke down in his room. He curled up under his sheets, shaking with fear for the brunet who changed (saved) his life. He was just so _scared_. Scared of losing Tsuna, his place in the family. Scaring of losing his reason to live. Somehow he placed all his fears upon the mafia boss, and comforted himself by locking them (Tsuna) away so nothing bad he feared would happen. Takeshi could only laugh bitterly at the outcome.

Tsuna was... Tsuna was almost an indefinable entity for Takeshi. He hadn't known how much the brunet had saved him, not just from throwing away his life, but from the dark pit of despair and depression that he used to struggle with on a daily basis. And somehow this pure, incorruptible being said the he had looked up to _him_, and suddenly Takeshi was basing his entire self worth upon those words. Even if he stained his own hands, Tsuna – the one who was practically angelic in the Mafia world – still had looked up towards him, still called him family and friend and forgave him for his sins. Takeshi had almost felt like he wasn't stained, or impure. His family had helped as well, more than they knew, but Takeshi couldn't forget that the reason he even had a family – and not a broken two person household, where communication worked in faked smiles – was because of Tsuna.

Lying in bed, on the verge of breaking down, Takeshi could almost feel the return of that darkness that had plagued him. _Look what you've done_, it said. _You've driven him away with your excessive dependence. He was the best thing that happened to you and you messed it up. _The swordsman wanted to protest, wanted to fight for his worth in the same way the brunet would have done. He would be disappointed in Takeshi if he let the darkness take hold. But the negativity continued to weigh him down. _Useless. Screw-up. You aren't worth him._

Takeshi knew he wasn't worth the love and care and acceptance that Tsuna unconditionally gave to each member of his family. He especially wasn't worth it after the stunt he pulled earlier, refusing to give back the same acceptance to Tsuna. His own insecurities had made him see the brunet as his own redemption, and Takeshi allowed them to push Tsuna to the edge. '_There's no way that I'm worth what Tsuna has given me.' _The swordsman hastily wiped his tears. '_But even so... he chose me. And I'll be damned if I don't get myself together, and give back everything I can. Because Tsuna deserves that much at least.' _

Takeshi didn't deserve another chance... but he could only pray that Tsuna would return to give him one.

X X X

Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, Hibari stalked down an empty corridor, sick of the sudden oppressive mood that had fallen over the Vongola mansion. They were all a bunch of Herbivores, moping around at the loss of their leader. _He_ at least would not give up looking until he found the wayward omnivore.

Hibari prided himself in few things: first and most obviously, his strength; secondly, his level-headedness and control. However there was another key characteristic that he secretly prided himself in and that was his refusal to submit to anyone. The omnivore (who was really more like a small animal), was someone he protected, not submitted to. He would bow down to nobody, never again after the years of submission forced upon him by others, his teachers, his _father_. It had been painful and humiliating, but he had gotten stronger in retaliation. He did not stop getting stronger until he was at the top of the food chain, subservient to nothing else.

And yet sometimes he'd get a feeling of pricking unease that he actually _was_ subordinate to the small animal – who somehow had the strange ability to draw all kinds of people in to serve him. The carnivorous baby (although no longer a baby) was a prime example of said ability. And he would remind himself that he was only _protecting _Sawada Tsunayoshi instead. Hence why he was looking for the small animal, to shield it from harm. Which is also why he did not agree to the omnivore killing people. That was the job of a carnivore, and Tsunayoshi was herbivorous enough that the mere act of hurting another would pain him.

The prefect frowned. He never did like people who deceived themselves, yet he was falling into the same trap himself. He absolutely despised submitting to anyone. However Hibari had never been forced, never been unwilling, to follow the omnivore. Tsunayoshi had (dare he admit it) helped him become even stronger, had given him a pack to be part of. Regardless the amount of times they annoyed him, there were worse people to call family – although he'd never admit it. The brunet had also given him something the other weaklings could not. He had given him control, a limit and a means not to get carried away by the bloodlust and animal instinct. The omnivore could stop him if he ever went out of control, a fear that had lurked in the back of his mind since the first time he fought back against the people who had controlled him, and destroyed them.

Hibari frowned and continued his search. He would not allow fears to control him. Yes he wanted to protect the small animal, not for being weak, but because he was _his._ And if that meant he would have to follow Tsunayoshi, then he would make the one exception for the brunet, and serve him willingly.

X X X

Ryohei honestly saw Tsuna as a younger brother. Sometimes he would unknowingly then treated the brunet like Kyoko, as someone it was his duty to protect. Sometimes he found himself holding back mothering comments. He even had to refrain from reminding Tsuna to brush his teeth. Maybe it's because the brunet remained him so much of Kyoko. Or maybe it was how helped he was when they first met, looking towards Ryohei for help or protection. It could just be the way he says 'Onii-san' in that half exasperated, half amused tone of his. Either way, Ryohei thought of Tsuna as his younger brother in all ways but blood.

So when Tsuna said that he could protect himself, even if that meant killing people, Ryohei immediately shut it down. His mind was constantly chanting '_no, no, no' _because it was _Tsuna_, Tsuna who would scream and run away from a chihuwawa. Tsuna who went around in his underwear, who had a high pitch wail that never failed to show in the face of danger. Tsuna couldn't protect himself. He'd get hurt. He'd get hurt just from hurting others. There was no need for him to put himself in that sort of danger anyway, he had his guardians (Ryohei) for that.

Ryohei's strength was made to protect. That was why he started boxing in the first place, to shield his sister from harm. He continues to box to shield his little brother from harm. The sun guardian couldn't use his skills for anything else. Anything else would just be hurting people because he could, and there'd be no limits, and no way to control himself. It would make his strength meaningless, and Ryohei was _made _to protect instead. That was why, he reasoned, he had sun flames.

The boxer hence needed someone to protect, and that someone was Tsuna. And he really _needed_ to do it; there was nothing else he placed as much importance upon. Ryohei couldn't give up boxing, but he didn't want to use it for malicious reasons. His reasons were pure, hence he was allowed to box as he did. Or so he told himself.

Although Ryohei couldn't quite forget how he hadn't protected Tsuna earlier, from his own guardians (himself). Or the way his face had crumpled in more pain than he had ever shown after being beaten up. He hadn't wanted to admit that Tsuna was growing up (already grown up). That _he_ was the one to protect them. He was a failure of a big brother if he put himself first, and ignored Tsuna's pain. Yet Tsuna always put himself last instead. His little brother was the one protecting everyone else, and Ryohei couldn't remember how it happened, but suddenly he was the one being protected. For the family, Tsuna put himself in all sorts of danger.

But that was it, wasn't it? Tsuna had something to protect too. And suddenly Ryohei realised he had given the boxer something to fight for as well. Not just a little brother, but a whole family that needed protection. He could still protect Tsuna, but even if he had to let the brunet grow up, he had everyone else to protect too.

The sun guardian decided the pain of losing their family would be a lot harsher than any sort of physical pain. His pride could bear it, if it would mean that his little brother never felt hurt in the same way again.

X X X

Lambo curled up with his special green blanket. Tsuna had given it to him years ago when they could no longer sleep together and it soon became one of his most important possessions. Clutching it tighter, the lightning guardian tried to imagine that Tsuna was lying besides him and he used to, a comforting presence.

Unlike the other guardians, Lambo had been following Tsuna for most of his life, he could barely remember a time when he hadn't had the brunet to look up to, for safety and protection. That is not to say that Lambo couldn't remember such a time at all. He was, after all, a mafia child, and like most mafia children, had been powerless against the brutality of the world he had lived in. His family had been small and peaceful, but few things stay like that in the world, and soon they'd been targeted for one thing or another. Lambo had to watch on as his parents, who had been so kind and loving (just like Tsuna), hardened themselves against their enemies. They became colder and colder, more caught up in becoming stronger than remaining a _Family _and not merely a _famaglia_. And suddenly his Madre had died, and suddenly what had seemed like a bad situation became hell for the child.

Everyone around him had looked down upon him, had mocked him for being weak where before they would have smiled endearingly. '_This was going to be the next boss of the Bovino?_' They said. '_He's not smart enough to make new weapons, or strong enough to wield them. He'll lead us to our deaths._' And yet Lambo had hoped, hoped that some part of his Family remained, that this was just a rough patch because everyone was afraid because they were being targeted. His hopes were dashed when he looked to his Papa for help, and all he received was a steely glare of disappointment.

So Lambo had run away, desperate to try and prove his worth, that he was worthy of being loved. Childishly, the Bovino went after Reborn. He was constantly faced with failure and injury, but not once had he ever regretted the hardship faced in those months after leaving home. Somehow he came across the Sawada household, with the kind-hearted mother and son, neither of which could replace his original parents, but both with a look in their eyes that reminded him so much of his Madre, before she died. Before they were attacked and his life went to hell.

The lightening guardian knew what bullet he'd dodged. Mafia kids didn't generally have good chances of survival, and even if he did survive, he would have ended up somewhere on the street. Lambo had no disillusions about what happened there – narcotics dependence was high, survival rates low. Your life never really amounted to much, no matter what you do. As desperate as he was, to prove himself, his worth, Lambo instinctually knew that had he kept on the same path, he would have gone down the same route. And even if he survived, he'd have ended up broken. Broken in the way that only people who'd seen the darkest walks of life could be.

Somehow Lambo managed to have been saved by that _and _get a happy and relatively pain-free childhood. Most importantly, he was given another chance of having a family – and he has to wonder just how Tsuna thought he was worth it. Lambo clutched his blanket tighter, snuggling into its folds and warmth. He was aware that he'd been a brat of a child, he'd been told it directly to his face, and yet somehow the brunet had put up with him. Lambo doesn't know if Tsuna placed a bet on his future abilities (but feeling inadequate as he does, Lambo doesn't think so), or whether the mafia boss had only felt pity for him. The look in Tsuna's eyes of warmth and acceptance, the look that was bordering on motherly, somehow told him that Tsuna at least thought he was worth it. And that made all the world for Lambo.

Still, he has gained a family, which is more than he'd thought he'd ever gain, but he had. Yet that doesn't erase his memories of the Bovino, and what happened to them. Lambo's been with the Vongola for much longer than his original family now, and even after facing challenges, they never sank to desperation and harsh attitudes. They never did reject him for being weak. The lightning guardian knew this, but it seemed all the more significant with Tsuna. Tsuna was the one who had accepted him first, and given him a family, and practically _raised_ him. Tsuna was the only other one who hadn't killed anyone (even if he said it was for _protection_, and Lambo wanted to hold onto that word, because they weren't trying to destroy their enemies like the Bovino, they were trying to protect each other). Somehow he felt as if Tsuna would start resenting him as well, if he became the only one who hadn't killed (wasn't able to carry his weight). Lambo knew better, he did, but the memory of his Papa, with eyes so cold and mouth set in disappointment, doesn't leave him.

But Lambo saw the look in Tsuna's eyes when they fought. It wasn't cold, or distant, but _hurt_. The youngest guardian suddenly decided that he could bear any other look in the brunet's eyes, as long as it wasn't the one of pain and rejection.

X X X

Rokudo Mukuro was not easily shaken. He was a man who went through Hell, multiple times, what could only be describes as _torture_ as a child, and years of captivity in Vendicare. How he could be so stung up after the disappearance of one measly brunet, he never knew. A measly _Mafia_ brunet at that. Yet Mukuro had figured that as long as Tsuna's hands remained clean, and the boy innocent, then he wasn't Mafia, wasn't _anything_ like the scum who'd put him through Hell on earth for the first years of his life. That made it bearable.

Mukuro knew he had issues. He had his demons. Part of being an illusionist was to pick out people's weaknesses and fears, so he knew exactly what his problems were. Yet that didn't make dealing with them any easier. His first family – his _famaglia, _not Family – had completely betrayed him. They'd treated him as less than human, as a lab rat, and everyone afterwards had continued to treat him as something other than human. But it was his original family that had started it. So when he meets the wide-eyed brunet that was supposed to become Vongola Decimo (so innocent, so pure), he felt as thought it was a slap in the face. If the mafia really had people like that, people who would have saved him from the brutality he faced, _why didn't they?_ Not a single person in the Mafia had saved him, no, they even condemned him afterwards, like he was a criminal. As if ending the lives of those beasts had been something inhuman and cruel, something only a monster would do. It didn't matter what the Estraneo had done, it didn't matter what he had done to them was probably the same (if not better) than what their punishment would have been. It didn't matter to the Mafia at all. No, all they cared about was his power (and he knew how much they feared it), so they locked him away, like the cowards they were.

And becoming part of another family, a _famaglia_, would seem like a betrayal. Not only to himself (because no matter _what _people said, he never believed he deserved the treatment he'd been given), but to all the other children he'd seen torn apart and die in those experiments. The other children of the family the Mafia would call 'collateral damage' in creating new weapons, or 'unfortunate necessities'. So he _couldn't_ just become a part of the Vongola _famaglia _when the brunet offered. It was painful, and ironic, even when he reluctantly decided the Vongola Decimo was not like other Mafia. Slowly he admitted that he might want to be part of Sawada Tsunayoshi's Family (not the Vongola _famaglia_). Again and again he pushed his boundaries for the brunet (because how could he _not_? How could he not want to protect the boy that let him see the sky for the first time in _years_?), but it was okay, it wasn't a betrayal because Tsunayoshi was not Mafia. He had the title, but Mukuro could let it be okay as long as his Tsunayoshi wasn't like any other Mafia. And finally his boundaries and exceptions were pushed back to the point where it was all okay as long as the brunet never stained his hands like other Mafia (like he had done himself).

The illusionist knew he wasn't letting go of his demons, and was constantly making excuses for the brunet that saved him. He knew that Tsunayoshi probably (definitely) deserved more for what he'd done. For being the first one to reach out his hand to Mukuro, the first to give him a _Family_. And yet Mukuro simply pushed the mafia boss because of his own uncertainties. When had he become so weak? So needy? Being in a family (accepted, cared for, loved) had made him soft. Mukuro himself had sinned beyond redemption. Every other family member had stained their hands. Could he trust the brunet (Tsunayoshi, _his_ Tsunayoshi) to do the same and not lose himself? After glancing at the calendar and seeing that Tsuna was _still_ out there, Mukuro decided that he could.

X X X

Chrome knew what the greater mafia world thought of her. She knew what her parents had thought of her before she'd been promptly abandoned. She even knew what other children at school had through of her, the resident freak. _Weak,_ _useless. Unwanted. A burden. _Sometimes she felt that even the rest of the family only even saw her as an extension of Mukuro too. Nagi had gone through the beginning of her life neglected and abused. The first person who had ever reached their hand out to her, was Mukuro. Mukuro had saved her, saved her life and given her companionship. (In the darkest recesses of her mind, she thought that it wasn't for _her_ that he saved her, but for a way to contact the outside world). Yet, he did save her – for whatever reason – and she could only ever be grateful for that. Then Tsuna had saved Mukuro, in more ways than one, and she could only ever be thankful to him, for saving her first real friend. (Although, Mukuro only became a real friend after Tsuna had helped him open up). Either way, she was grateful to them both. When it came down to choosing who to side with, she chose Mukuro (her first).

Chrome was greatly regretting her decision. Maybe she had thought that Mukuro was more fragile than Tsuna (and he was), so he needed someone to support him. But when Chrome saw Tsuna (her 'Bossu'), alone in his decision and cornered by his guardians, a flash of guilt had flared up within her. Had that not been her, only recently, with everyone else against her? Abandoning her? And yet she did the same to Tsuna.

The female Mist, in her guilt, didn't want to admit the obvious. She had done worse than reject the saviour of her saviour. Tsuna was more than just that. Mukuro may have saved her life, but Tsuna had given her a reason to live on. Throughout all the abuse and pain, Nagi had merely been surviving. Mukuro had allowed her to keep surviving, but Tsuna had allowed her to _live_. When Mukuro had been released, Chrome was terrified, scared that her reason to live was going to be taken away, that she'd no longer have a place in the world. Until then she still had the smallest fear that it would all end when they could free Mukuro, when they no longer needed her. And yet, Tsuna hadn't cast her off. He didn't replace her or take away her reason to live (even though he was the one who had given it to her, and by all rights was allowed to take it back). Tsuna hadn't abandoned her like she had done to him.

Even if Mukuro disagrees, as long as Tsuna comes back (he _has _to), then Chrome will support him in anything.

X X X

Sporting a dark scowl, Reborn sipped on an espresso – that wasn't nearly as good as the one Tsuna would have made – frustration evident in each of his movements. They'd searched everywhere they could think of, all the Mafia families that they were close to, without giving away that Tsuna was currently missing. He didn't want to imagine the chaos that would ensue if the public learned that Vongola Decimo had run away. In the back of his mind, he also noted that it would put Tsuna (wherever he was) at even more risk, and the thought made his already mediocre espresso taste sour. Short of reviewing every CCTV tape of the city, they came up blank.

When Reborn first heard of his wayward student rushing off in a fit of emotion, he spent the next hour thinking of appropriate _training regimes _as punishment. After another few hours his plans didn't even include posing the punishment as training. When no word of his student arrived even after that, the hitman allowed himself to feel the first twinges of worry. Even so, he taught Tsuna well. He was the best hitman in the world, there was no way his student would allow himself to dare end up hurt anywhere (would he?). Reborn would kill him himself if that happened.

The Arcobaleno couldn't even bring himself to resent just how much his student had grown upon him. He always knew – especially after Luce, he _knew_ – that getting attached to someone would simply end up in pain for someone like him, but Tsuna made it incredibly hard not to. Even in the beginning, Reborn found himself grateful for the clumsy child he had little hope would grow into the Don he was currently becoming, just for how he treated him as an adult instead of a child. After the initial reaction, he never felt Tsuna once look down upon him, and he knew how hard it was for people not to. Regardless of who they were, psychological reactions to appearance were hard to cast away, but the brunet had done it just like that, and somehow it meant the world to Reborn.

The hitman was content with that, but Tsuna had taken it further. He never made to hide his occupation – he openly flirted it at times – and he was well known as the best of the best. It was nearly impossible for people to look past the status of 'hitman' and 'killer'. Most people feared it, with a select few people dismissing it entirely, as if it had no significance. Luce had acted like that, dismissing his occupation as if it meant nothing, and he was a perfectly fine human no matter what other people said. Reborn wasn't an idiot. He knew being a killer was part of him, catered to some of the darker aspects of his mind he'd hidden away. And then Tsuna, Tsuna didn't do either. Despite all the screams and protests, ther was never an ounce of fear directed at who he was. The mafia boss hadn't been repulsed by him, or conveniently rejected part of who he was. For once, someone had accepted him _despite _the fact that he was a killer. The hitman hadn't even known he wanted someone to simply treat him as a _human_ until a young brunet had gone ahead and done it.

When he'd (unintentionally) received so much from his student, he hadn't expected anything more. When the brunet looked at him, with fire blazing in his eyes, that under no certain circumstance would he let Reborn die for his curse, that they were _family _and family helped each other, the hitman's breath caught in his throat. Sometimes, in his more sentimental moments, Reborn thought of telling his student just how much he'd given in return – _his dignity, humanity, his life back, a place to_ _belong_ – and he'd decide his idiot student would simply smile at him in return, as if it had been no big deal. Reborn contented himself with displaying his affections through his usual unconventional methods, while holding a vow to protect his student – his Sky – to the bitter end, and lay waste upon anyone who dare think they could go against Vongola Decimo and not pay the price.

So when his student was missing, Reborn didn't know what he would do if anything happened to the boy who'd made his life worth living again. All he knew was that his student would be getting hell when (_when_, not if) he got back. After Reborn made sure he was okay at least.

X X X

Tsuna woke up to a large, soft bed, still disorientated from sleep. He gazed around the white room (white? Since when was his room white?), keeping his attention more on focusing his eyesight than how he ended up in someone else's bed. Once he could properly make out the room and not just a blur of colours, the brunet tried hard to think of how he ended up there. He frowned. Gokudera would be making a racket if he couldn't find him– Tsuna sat up with a jolt. Gokudera. His guardians. Their unsympathetic stares and those horrible words ('_we don't need you'_) that kept him awake for so long. His recollections were cut short by a joyful, sing-song voice.

"Tsu-na-yoshi! Merry Christmas!"

Tsuna blinked. Christmas? With dawning horror the brunet realised it _was_ December 25th, and he'd entirely forgotten. Secretly he'd been looking forwards to the date for weeks. He always celebrated the holiday happily with his mother, and in a few of his early memories his father had been present too. He remembered Gokudera associated the holiday with his mother – the real one who'd never fail to give him some small, meaningful gift (the bomber admitted to keeping them all locked away safely in a box in his childhood bedroom and Tsuna had made surprise plans to retrieve them from his old family). Lambo loved Christmas with a childish glee, but it made its way into the young lightning guardian's heart in more ways than one, being one of the few times he felt included in the Bovino family before he was abandoned. Chrome shyly told Tsuna once that her parents always tried to put up a sham of a happy family on Christmas, and even if it wasn't quite convincing, she never had to fear major fights and shouting matches and throwing objects on that day (Tsuna vowed they'd have a real happy family to celebrate it together for her). Both Mukuro and Hibari had never celebrated the holiday, and Tsuna could only hold back his anger about the fact that Mukuro never had the childhood (or family) he deserved, while vowing he'd manage to get Hibari to spend it with them as part of the family, regardless of how removed from them he may feel or claim to be. Takeshi and Ryohei he knew were extremely excited for the event, and Tsuna had hoped to make it a good one for the first time they'd be spending it away from their respectful families. And Reborn. The hitman absolutely loved celebration and traditions. The brunet knew that even if he tried not to show it, Reborn was also looking forward to Christmas.

Byakuran waltzed into the room, carrying a large, white cake that Tsuna was sure had some form of marshmallow in it.

"Merry Christmas," he responded with a smile, even while his insides were twisting. It had been a week (only a week?) since he left his family. Byakuran had found him in the streets sometime afterwards. He took one look at the shivering brunet before ushering him into a car. Tsuna had a large suspicion that the fact nobody had found him yet was due to the white haired been besides him.

"What do you want to do today?" Byakuran was bouncing around, hyper as always. Tsuna's mood worsened at the excitement of his friend. It made it harder to leave, but he needed to be with his family. It was Christmas, and he promised, and Tsuna didn't break his promises.

"I..." Tsuna frowned. "I want to go back. To my family."

Byakuran's face fell, and for a moment Tsuna was assaulted with guilt, but suddenly a knowing look came into the Millifiore boss' eyes, and a smaller, more real smile appeared.

"Okay." _It's about time._

Tsuna had refused the option of a car – partly because he didn't want Byakuran getting in trouble for hiding him for so long, partly because he wanted to stretch his muscles, having been cooped up for a week. Mostly because he needed time alone to think (worry). Were they still mad? The words that had haunted him (_we don't need you_) invaded his thoughts, amplifying his worries. He honestly didn't know _what_ he'd do if his family no longer wanted him.

Deciding to shove his worries to the back of his mind, Tsuna ignited his gloves and took to the air, starting his journey home.

The mansion was quiet when he arrived, uncharacteristically so. Tsuna felt a flare of unease ignite. Did something happen when he was gone? Had they been attacked? He was sure Byakuran would have mentioned if something happened to Vongola while he was away, but the small doubt that his white haired friend was entirely unpredictable fed his increasing worry over the near deathly silence of the building.

Maybe they went out to celebrate? Nodding to himself, Tsuna decided that was probably it (after all, the mansion had _never_ been this silent, in all the years that they had lived there), and promptly entered via the nearest window. It was locked, but all the windows could be unlocked by a key of which there were nine copies then had been distributed amongst him, his guardians, and Reborn. After all, there were numerous reasons one of them might have to climb in via a window, this being one of them. Otherwise the windows were near impossible to breach, using his flame being an exception.

Tsuna didn't want to smash another window though – they were costly and breaking one was already leaving him feeling guilty – and so he entered the building silently, wondering where his guardians could be. He made his way to the sitting room (Reborn insisted it was a sitting room, despite the fact Tsuna felt it large enough to be a hall), and frowned at the lack of decorations. There wasn't even a tree.

A movement caught the edge of his eye, and he twirled around just in time to dodge an incoming tonfa.

Tsuna blinked. "Kyouya?"

The prefect, who had evidently just thrown his weapon at what he thought was an intruder, froze. He stared at the brunet. "Tsunayoshi?"

It was not often that Hibari had ever called him something other than his full name or a type of animal. Tsuna frowned. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

He found himself being ignored, as Hibari muttered a sting of sentences, too low to hear, into his phone. Not long after, the sound of several approaching footsteps could be heard.

"Tenth!"

Tsuna had only just registered the loud yell before a mass of silver hair obstructed his view, and his arms were suddenly full of a sobbing Gokudera. Distantly he can hear the others arriving ("Tsuna-nii!" "Welcome home Bossu." "My, Tsunayoshi, you had us worried there."), so he tried to comfort the sobbing mess that was his storm guardian.

"Hey. There, there Hayato. It's alright."

"I just", Gokudera gasped between sobs, "I just don't know what would happen if I lost you."

Guilt started to eat at Tsuna, because how could he leave them like that? He'd been gone for a week without contact, and he knew that if it had been anyone else, he'd be beside himself with worry. The brunet hadn't had time to reply before another person barrelled into him, almost tipping both him and the Storm guardian over.

"Tsuna-nii, you're alright!"

Tsuna smiled fondly at Lambo as he hugged the boy back. The lightning guardian had the endearing trait of reverting to calling Tsuna as he used to as a child whenever Lambo became emotional.

A heavy weight fell onto his back, and it took the brunet a moment to realise that Yamamoto was holding him in that one-armed way of his.

"Takeshi," Tsuna greeted warmly.

Surprisingly he didn't get a reply in return. The mafia boss tried to twist around to look at his rain guardian, before the sight of an uncharacteristically sombre looking Ryohei caught his attention. Suddenly the two guardians in his arms had stopped crying, and were standing resolutely in front of him.

"Guys?" Tsuna looked around, unnerved. Were they still mad at him? "Guys I'm really sorr–"

"No, Tenth." Gokudera interrupted. It was so ususual for the bomber to interrupt that Tsuna was momentarily shocked into silence. "We're sorry for pushing you so hard."

"Little bro" Ryohei came forwards. His voice was quiet, yet it still held the same conviction he conveyed with each of his shouts. "We want to protect you, but we're sorry we didn't see you want to protect us too." Nods of agreement came from all around.

"Tch. Stupid omnivore. You can't leave these herbivores. They need you."

Tsuna suddenly found tears falling from his eyes. Those horrible words that had scared him so much no longer mattered. Surrounded by his guardians, each who looked on in understanding and love, was the best Christmas gift he could have ever asked for. Tsuna wiped his tears, smiling happily at his family. It felt good to be home.

The sound of a gun cocking next to his ear made the brunet freeze. Slowly, but surely, a murderous aura invaded his senses. With sweat running down his neck at the sudden tense atmosphere, the mafia boss slowly turned around.

"R-reborn. How're you?" Tsuna gave a strained smile as he looked into the Arcobaleno's eyes. He hadn't heard the man arrive (although it was hard to do so even when he was looking for it). The brunet suddenly blinked, wondering if he was seeing properly, or simply imagining the hint of worry in those black orbs.

Reborn pushed his gun harder into Tsuna's temple, cutting off his thoughts.

"Well, _Dame-Tsuna_. You better have a lovely explanation as to where you have been."

The brunet paled. _Shit_.


End file.
